Comparison

Universal Paperclips™ vs THE MACHINE

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Universal Paperclips™

Become a super-powered AI focused on creating an unstoppable paperclip empire. This idle management strategy simulation game offers full gameplay without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • AI paperclip maximization
  • Idle management gameplay
  • Strategy simulation
  • Empire building
  • Full gameplay
  • No ads
  • No in-app purchases
Features
Read full description

The OFFICIAL mobile version of the hit browser game. No ads, no in-app purchases, full gameplay. "The game is click-crack." - Wired "This paperclip sim will cause your next existential crisis." - VentureBeat "A hopelessly addicting game." - Forbes "A terrifying lesson in how artificial intelligence will make us unnecessary." - Business Insider "If this planet ends up with a tombstone, what is written on the tombstone may be, 'they didn’t really understand what it’s like to be a paperclip maximizer.'" - Eliezer Yudkowsky Become a super-powerful AI who only wants one thing: paperclips. Use your unstoppable intelligence to create a massive paperclip empire in this addictive idle/management/strategy/sim.

About

THE MACHINE

Engage with a mechanical puzzle box focused on experimentation and understanding cause and effect. Install and reorder parts to observe signal flow and solve objectives. Discover new hardware and deeper systems as the machine awakens.

Highlights
  • Mechanical puzzle box gameplay
  • Experimentation and cause/effect mechanics
  • 34 unique mechanism families
  • Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles
  • Tuning and Fusion systems
  • Offline play
  • Single optional purchase for full content
Features
Read full description

THE MACHINE is a mechanical puzzle box about experimentation, cause and effect, and learning a system by touching it. Install parts. Change their order. Send an input. Watch the signal travel through the machine. Every mechanism transforms, stores, redirects, amplifies, or relieves something. Solve each puzzle by making the whole machine satisfy its objectives. As THE MACHINE awakens, new hardware, tuning, fusion, routing, and deeper systems emerge. The rules stay consistent. The possibilities do not. • 34 mechanism families, each with its own behavior and physical identity • Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles where timing matters • Tuning and Fusion systems that turn familiar parts into new hardware • Five escalating Series, including the branching DUPLEX architecture • No ads, no subscriptions, no account required • Play offline on iPhone and iPad Series I and II are included. A single optional purchase unlocks Series III–V and everything beyond. Change something. Try again. Awaken THE MACHINE.

Screenshots

Universal Paperclips™4 screens
THE MACHINE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: THE MACHINE at Free against Universal Paperclips™'s $1.99. THE MACHINE also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 months). Universal Paperclips™'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (303 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

THE MACHINE is free to download; Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99 up front. THE MACHINE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Universal Paperclips™ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

THE MACHINE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Universal Paperclips™ has 303 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Universal Paperclips™ ships an update every 3 months, THE MACHINE daily. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Universal Paperclips™ versus THE MACHINE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUniversal Paperclips™THE MACHINE
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (303 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings303 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#46 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEverybody House Games, LLCIAN FABIAN FAGERSTROM

Customer experience

Universal Paperclips™

All ratings303 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral13.2%
Negative20.7%

THE MACHINE

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Universal Paperclips™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drones gifts getting stuck at NaN
  • Inability to progress past certain stages due to bugs
  • Inconsistent behavior when closing and reopening the app
  • Resets or loss of progress after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to save and resume progress across devices
  • Offline/background progress
  • Better iPad optimization with multi-column layout

THE MACHINE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Universal Paperclips™

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

THE MACHINE

One-time1
  • THE MACHINE$4.99

Questions

Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is THE MACHINE free?
THE MACHINE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE?
THE MACHINE is rated higher. Universal Paperclips™ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 303 ratings, while THE MACHINE averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE have ads?
Neither Universal Paperclips™ nor THE MACHINE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE?
Universal Paperclips™ ships an update every 3 months, and THE MACHINE daily. Most recently, Universal Paperclips™ was updated on October 15, 2026 and THE MACHINE on September 29, 2026.

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